Associate Life

July 12, 2012

Shades of Gray: Mayor Vincent Gray allegedly gained knowledge in January that people associated with his campaign were spending money on his campaign that was not reported, according to The Washington Post. Three members of the D.C. Counsel have called on Gray to resign.

Settlement: Former Dewey & LeBoeuf partners are being asked to kick in between $25,000 and $3 million toward $103.6 million as part of a proposed settlement, according to Am Law Daily. The bankruptcy leadership team is encouraging former Dewey attorneys to agree to the settlement by July 24. Otherwise it could open the door to future litigation.

Hazing: The President of Florida A&M University resigned yesterday, eight months after a member of the marching band died during a hazing ritual, reportsThe New York Times. The resignation coincided with a lawsuit filed in Orlando by the parents of the band member.

Stump: Mitt Romney took his presidential pitch to the NAACP convention in Houston, Texas. He was received with cheers and boos, reportsThe Houston Chronicle. Oh, there was also an organ there too.

July 03, 2012

Baker & McKenzie has added an IP litigator to its Washington ranks, the firm announced Monday.

Julie Petruzzelli, formerly a partner at Venable, joins Baker & McKenzie as a partner. She focuses her litigation practice on matters including patent, trade secret, trademark and copyright disputes. During the past few years Petruzzelli has increasingly served more Asian companies, particularly those based in Japan.

In an interview, Petruzzelli said that Baker & McKenzie's footprint matched the growing global demand of her clients.

"[Baker's] global focus and the extremely strong IP group are two combinations that are difficult to ignore," Petruzzelli said. "It is an exciting time for IP practitioners."

July 02, 2012

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is set to be honored by the American Bar Association for its pro bono work.

Akin Gump will be presented with the 2012 Pro Bono Publico Award Aug. 6, during the ABA's annual meeting in Chicago. The association will award five recipients. In addition to the firm, the recipients will include three individual lawyers and a department of the New York State Supreme Court.

"Pro bono work is a key component of our legal system, and these good deeds help to fill the void left by devastating budget cuts," ABA president William Robinson III said in a written statement.

Attorneys at Akin Gump averaged 84 hours of pro bono work per U.S. lawyer last year, according to the ABA release. Globally, the firm donated more than 67,000 hours of pro bono work. Since 2006, Akin Gump increased its pro bono hours by more than 50 percent.

"I spent the last four years learning how my clients think," Cassidy said in an interview. "You will see a lot of defense contractors grappling with technology issues." She said technology often outpaces the law in certain areas and that will only make things more complex in the future.

Caccia focuses his practice on white collar issues, corporate internal investigations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, health care fraud, criminal antitrust cases, defending government enforcement actions and Congressional investigations. He has represented defense contracts and health care providers in criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations. Caccia is also a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

"His substantial experience further deepens our white collar capabilities and complements several of our existing practice areas, including government contracts, public policy and health care," firm chairman Richard Wiley said in a written statement.

June 27, 2012

McKenna Long & Aldridge has added a patent litigator to its Washington office, the firm announced Tuesday.

Robert Nissen joins the firm as a partner in the intellectual property and technology practice. He was formerly managing partner at his firm, Nissen & Associates. When his partner at their two-person shop decided to retire, Nissen weighed whether he should seek out a new partner or join a larger firm.

"We had been real successful, but at some point we became too successful," Nissen said in an interview. "It was extremely difficult to handle the workflow."

Polsinelli Shughart has added a litigator to its Washington office, the firm announced Tuesday.

Jonathan Rosen joins the firm's white collar defense and government investigations practice as a shareholder. He was formerly a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Washington.

Rosen formerly served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2006. Rosen led the prosecution team investigating fraud in Iraq, and initiated the first prosecution using the alternative nationality provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

"Conducting an investigation in a war zone presented some fairly dramatic logistical hurdles," Rosen said in an interview.

June 22, 2012

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit delivered another blow to Patton Boggs when it reaffirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Chevron Corp. and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

The opinion, published Friday, reaffirmed U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr.'s rejection of the case in August of last year. Patton appealed in December.

"At the same time that it filed its motion for reconsideration, Patton Boggs took the unusual step of filing a new, separate complaint asserting claims identical to those in the original lawsuit," Judge Thomas Griffith wrote on behalf of Chief Judge David Sentelle and Judge Janice Rogers Brown. "Patton Boggs had also failed to properly state a cause of action with its new theory."

Patton also sought a declaratory judgment that the firm could not be disqualified from representing the Ecuadorians because of its acquisition of the lobbying shop called Breaux Lott Leadership Group, which had previously done work for Chevron.

June 21, 2012

An Alabama-based personal-injury law firm is suing a Washington attorney for breach of contract related to television advertisements.

Michael Slocumb of the Slocumb Law Firm is suing D.C. solo practitioner Michael Wilson of The Law Offices of Michael M. Wilson, M.D., J.D. and Associates, and is seeking back payment and damages of $1 million plus attorneys fees.

The complaint, filed Wednesday, alleges that Slocumb and Wilson entered into a contract through which Slocumb funded television advertisements on behalf of Wilson. The advertisements for legal services related to medical malpractice and birth-related injuries, which ran from March 2011 through February 2012, cost Wilson $28,750 a month, according to the complaint.